mtvU (formerly
College Television Network or
CTN) is a division of
MTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerates Viacom and CBS Corporation that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States....
which broadcasts a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States. A
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
-owned channel, mtvU both provides an alternative to standard music television for college students, and gives advertisers and music promotion companies access to college-age viewers, a valuable but traditionally difficult-to-reach demographic group.
At universities to which mtvU gains access, TV monitors are often set up in student centers, dining facilities and fitness centers, as well as in dorm lounges and common areas; students can also access mtvU through closed circuit cable.
mtvU (formerly
College Television Network or
CTN) is a division of
MTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerates Viacom and CBS Corporation that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States....
which broadcasts a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States. A
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
-owned channel, mtvU both provides an alternative to standard music television for college students, and gives advertisers and music promotion companies access to college-age viewers, a valuable but traditionally difficult-to-reach demographic group.
At universities to which mtvU gains access, TV monitors are often set up in student centers, dining facilities and fitness centers, as well as in dorm lounges and common areas; students can also access mtvU through closed circuit cable. CTN originally began as a venture that installed video jukeboxes at these locations.
In 2008, MTV Networks discontinued
VH1 UnoVH1 Uno was a digital cable and satellite television channel which was a sister channel of VH1...
, a sparsely-viewed Spanish music video channel, and it replaced that channel with mtvU, to expand the channel's distribution further into regular cable homes.
Programming
According to its promotional materials, mtvU broadcasts exclusive content dedicated to aspects of college life, including music, news, and on-campus events. The channel was the first MTV network to stream all of its content online. On-campus events include the Campus Invasion tour, featuring up-and-coming bands; the GAME0Rz Ball tour, which brings new video games to campus; and Tailgate Tour, which provides mtvU with a presence at campus tailgates. mtvU shows include Dean's List, the mtvU Awards, and mtvU Spring Break.
mtvU plays a mix of music programming with an emphasis on emerging artists. (
mtvU VIDEO PREMIERES) Each hour, mtvU broadcasts news updates from
ABC NewsABC News is a division of American television network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Its current president is David Westin.-Current programs:* America This Morning* Good Morning America* Good Morning America Weekend Edition...
(formerly
CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports...
, changed in late 2006 in the wake of the
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
/
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
separation), including international news and college-related news. Twice an hour,
MTV NewsMTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
airs stories on subjects such as music downloading, and musical artists under promotion by mtvU.
Additionally, mtvU airs several original programs produced by and featuring college students.
The Freshmen features three rotating student panelists discussing new music videos and is hosted by Kim Stolz;
Stand-In brings celebrities and intellectuals into college classrooms to teach for a day, and has featured people as diverse as Nobel Laureates
Elie WieselEliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE is a writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps...
and
Shimon Peres' is the ninth and current President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
;
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
;
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
;
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
; and
Jhumpa LahiriJhumpa Lahiri is an Indian American author. Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies , won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and her first novel, The Namesake , was adapted into the popular film of the same name...
.
It has also started a social networking site "Meet or Delete" along with Hewlett Packard.
Woodie Awards
mtvU also has its own annual awards show, the
mtvU Woodie Awards , which they say recognizes "the music voted best by college students." Previous winners have included 2005's
Death Cab for CutieDeath Cab for Cutie is a Grammy-nominated American indie rock band, formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Benjamin Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr...
,
Motion City SoundtrackMotion City Soundtrack is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1997. Only two of the founding members are still a part of the lineup: lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre and lead guitarist and backing vocalist Joshua Cain...
, and
the AftersThe Afters are a Dove Award-winning Rock band founded by Joshua Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they played for customers, before deciding to form a band. They added Brad Wigg and Marc Dodd, who were also employed at...
; 2006 winners include the
30 Seconds to Mars30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band features actor Jared Leto as vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter.- Formation :...
,
Plain White T'sPlain White T's is an American pop rock band started in 1997, originally from Villa Park, Illinois. Formed by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel...
,
mewithoutYouMewithoutYou is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based experimental rock band. The band consists of vocalist Aaron Weiss, guitarist Michael Weiss, bassist Greg Jehanian and drummer Rickie Mazzotta. MewithoutYou's music is generally dominated by spoken-word vocals and free-ranging drums, bass, and guitar...
,
the SubwaysThe Subways are an English alternative rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All Or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008...
and
Gnarls BarkleyGnarls Barkley is a Grammy award-winning American musical group collaboration between multi-instrumentalist and producer Danger Mouse from New York, and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green , from Atlanta. Their first album, St...
. The 2006 ceremony was also notable for
Jared LetoJared Leto is an American actor and musician, he has appeared in films such as Fight Club, Panic Room and Lonely Hearts and is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars...
's altercation with
Elijah WoodElijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. Making his film debut with a minor part in the Back to the Future Part II , he landed a succession of subsequent larger roles and became a critically acclaimed child actor by age 13....
and Scott from the music blog
StereogumStereogum is a music-oriented blog that focuses mainly on independent and alternative music MP3s, videos, news, reviews, and gossip...
.. The 2008 awards had a huge fan voting for the Best Music On Campus award, where The Bride Wore Black won the award and Chasing Arrows came in right behind. Winners at the 2008 Woodie Awards included
ParamoreParamore is a Grammy-nominated American rock band that formed in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004 consisting of Hayley Williams , Josh Farro , Jeremy Davis , Zac Farro , and Taylor York...
and
There for TomorrowThere for Tomorrow is an alternative rock band formed in Orlando, Florida in 2003. They were signed to Hopeless Records in 2008.-Biography:...
.
Student activism
Student activism is also key to mtvU. The online game
Darfur is DyingDarfur is Dying is a browser game about the crisis in Darfur, western Sudan. The game won the Darfur Digital Activist Contest sponsored by mtvU. Released in April 2006, more than 800,000 people had played by September. It is classified as an 'ethical' or serious game.-Development and release:The...
was developed as part of an mtvU contest, and other
Sudan genocideThe Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...
coverage won mtvU two Emmys, including the 2006 Governors Award. mtvU also provides grants for student activists, giving away $1000 a week to various student groups. Currently, mtvU is also cosponsoring the ecomagination Challenge with GE, which aims to empower college students to solve environmental problems on campuses. mtvU also sponsored the
Film Your IssueFilm Your Issue is a national issue film contest featuring 30 to 60-second films by U.S. residents from the ages of 18 and 26. Spearheaded by Heathcliff Rothman, in partnership with The American Democracy Project, the contest had its first "beta" round in 2005....
competition, a competition designed to encourage college-age filmmakers to make short political pieces, and aired the winners.
Other opportunities mtvU provides for college students include Digital Incubator grants, which award students who are pioneering the future of broadband content, and the Student Filmmaker Award, which provides the winner with the chance to receive a development deal with mtvU and collect the award at the MTV Movie Awards. Besides these competitions, mtvU makes efforts to use student work through its programming.
Acquisitions
In August 2006, Viacom's mtvU announced an agreement to acquire Y2M Youth Media & Marketing Networks, the parent of
College PublisherCollege Publisher is an online hosted college newspaper system used by hundreds of college newspapers around the United States. The product is an application service provider that provides web site design and hosting...
, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the United States.
In February 2007, Viacom's mtvU announced an agreement to acquire
RateMyProfessors.comRateMyProfessors.com is a review site, founded in May 1999 by John Swapceinski, a software engineer from Menlo Park, California, which allows college, university students and anonymous people to assign ratings to professors of American, Canadian, and British institutions. The site contains more...
, a website that allows college students to rate their professors.
List of mtvU VJs
- Kim Stolz
Kimberly Lynn "Kim" Stolz is an American fashion model and television personality. Stolz is a correspondent for MTV News and serves as video jockey and host for The Freshman, a series on mtvU. Stolz first came to fame as a contestant on Cycle 5 of America's Next Top Model, where she finished fifth...
(current)
- Dana-Sky Faison
- Gardner Loulan
Gardner Loulan is a television host whom edits and produces a wide variety of television, film and internet media; most notably for NBC, LX.TV, and previously was an MTV University video jockey....
- Josh McCutcheon
- Sarah Messer
- Sara Baiyu Chen
Baiyu is a Chinese-American: singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress. At the age of eight, her entire family settled in Maryland, and she was given the American name of “Sara”. While in the DC area Baiyu's interest in music and acting began to materialize...
(former)
- Taiwan Brown
Taiwan Brown is an American actor, host, and former MtvU video jockey. He is currently the host for the iptv network OmitTV.com...
(former)
See also
- List of MTV channels
- MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerates Viacom and CBS Corporation that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States....
- List of MTV VJs
- MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
- think MTV
External links